Picture Perfect Puertas

      Today we had the day off, so we took our long anticipated adventure into town to photo shoot their unique puertas (doors). Dawnell and I had two girls from the school with us, Carmen and Alejandra. Because it's a holiday, there were a lot of intimidating tourists in town, so we took the opportunity to share the gospel and pass out tracks with the girls. No one made a decision, but street evangelism was something new for these girls who happen to be extremely shy. They took steps today to share about Christ with other people when it was hard for them, and that really excites me! I loved spending time with them today!

 

 

 

As a little group of American girls, we've been studying James with Beth Moore. It's been good. Recently I've been reflecting a lot on James 1:27.

 

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

 

I've been thinking about my religion... the way I live my life for God. I was challenged not to "coast" and hope to arrive one day at all that I hoped to be and all that I wanted to live for the Lord. I don't think we live coasting decidedly, but we unconsciously do when we don't live on purpose. I'm not satisfied with who I am... I wanna be so much more. I want to be free for God to use whenever and however He wants. Living up to that takes "serious discipline and determination.... courage and deep conviction.... the Holy Ghost." Here's the quote from Beth that keeps playing in my mind and my heart:

 

You don't live this kind of life accidentally. You make up your mind who you want to be and die daily to the rest.

 

Simply summed. I make hundreds of decisions every day. Many are opportunities to change who I am and grow into Who I want to be. Because of Christ's victory over sin and death, I can choose to die to the hindering and choose to walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16, 24-25 says

 

...Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

... they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

 

My prayer for myself is that I will daily choose to die to the things that quench who God's calling me to be... -who I want to be, and choose the best a hundred times every day.